


Trigger Test

by J_33



Category: Person Of Interest - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Post 4x11, mentions of attempt suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-16 13:50:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4627662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_33/pseuds/J_33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sameen Shaw wasn't afraid to die, because living, now that was the frightening part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trigger Test

**Author's Note:**

> mentions of attempt suicide so be warned. This is kinda dark but its been stuck in my head for a while so ENJOY!

Shaw woke up from her drug induced sleep to find her binds no longer choking her wrists, but lagging around them giving her some range of motion to move her arms. She wasn’t sure if it was planned or not, but she wasn’t about to waste this opportunity to get out of this prison.

 

She waited until a guard came into her room. She closed her eyes as soon as she heard the keys open the lock to the door confining her. She heard the heavy footsteps as the guard made his way to her bed to check her vitals. His hand roamed above the IV stuck in her right arm, and that’s when she made her move.

 

Before the guard could even respond, he was put into a chokehold, and thrown against the wall, as Shaw grabbed the gun previously attached to his hip. She forced her shaky legs to move quickly yet silently towards the door, but when she tried to open it, the handle wouldn’t budge.

 

 _Shit,_ she thought.

 

“My dear Sameen, did you really think it would be that easy to get away from us? You’ll soon learn not to underestimate Samaritan,” Greer stated, his voice echoing from the speakers in her room.

 

She could hear the mocking smile in his voice.

 

“Maybe you should learn not to underestimate me either,” Shaw said in a raised voice, pointing the gun at her head.

 

“You’re not going to kill yourself,” he said.

 

“Wanna bet?” she asked, her finger ghosting above the trigger.

 

Shaw had been held captive for months already, and if the Team didn’t find her already, they weren’t going to. She could feel herself growing weaker by the day, and sooner or later, she wouldn’t be able to resist Samaritans tactics. She’d rather die on her own terms than break to her enemies.

 

“I’m not afraid to die,” Shaw said, her grip growing tighter.

 

“No, you’re not. Why else would you have sacrificed yourself to help those people you call friends. Your intentions are admirable, my dear, but I’m afraid they are futile. You see death as your only escape, now that you’ve lost all hope of ever being rescued, but unfortunately, Samaritan is not finished with you yet. Your life still serves us some value, which is why I encourage you to put down the gun,” Greer said.

 

“I’m going to have to disagree,” she said, closing her eyes, and then pulling the trigger.

 

There was no pain, at first, but seconds passed when Shaw realized the gun never went off. She heard laughter erupting from the speakers, and this, she realized, was hell.

 

Guards rushed into the room, and she tried to fight back, but there were too many, and she was pricked in the neck with a needle before she could do any serious damage. Her body went limp, though her mind was still responsive for the time being. They dragged her back into her bed, and binded her in, no attempt at breaking free again.

 

“I admire your courage, Sameen, but your time here has made you naive,” Greer said, taking a seat by her bed.

 

“You tricked me,” Shaw said, through the haze of her newest cocktail. “You knew the gun wouldn’t go off.”

 

“Fingerprint sensors. The guns will only work when fired by the correct person,” Greer said. “And we didn’t trick you, we were only testing you, to see how far you would go when given the chance.”

 

“Go to hell,” she spat at him.

 

“Your loyalty, however, is one to be desired. I could only hope to have agents as willing to die for this cause, as you are. My offer still stands. Just tell us the location of the Machine, and all this pain can come to an end.”

 

“Like I told you before, I don’t know where the Machine is, nor do I care,” Shaw said.

 

“I know Miss Groves cares an awful lot about the Machine, and I know she cares about you too. We’ve all seen the tapes from the Stock Exchange,” he said, pushing a button that made the television screen play the security tapes from that day over and over again right in front of her.

 

“Turn this off, I don’t wanna see it,” Shaw yelled, pulling feverishly against her binds, scratching her skin raw, but she was stuck.

 

Stuck to this bed, stuck in this prison, stuck in this hell.

 

“How does Root communicate with the Machine?” Greer asked in a soft voice.

 

Shaw closed her eyes in response, and waited for the drugs to kick in. She could still feel the familiar weight of the gun in her hand, before she faded out of conscience, into her dreams where things didn’t seem so bad.

 

***

 

After Shaw was rescued beaten, bruised, (and broken) from the depths of Samaritan, she was hardly ever alone in the Subway, Root made sure of it.

 

She watched her sleep on the old cot, and she watched her shake, and mumble words that weren’t comprehendble. Root watched the way she would lose focus randomly, and the way her eyes would, just for a second, grow dark, like she was lost in her own head.

 

Sameen Shaw was the strongest person that Root ever knew, and to see her this way was almost worse than watching her get shot.

 

As the weeks passed, Shaw seemed to be getting better, but it’s hard to really tell if a person with Axis Two Personality Disorder is really healing, or just faking it.

 

Reese and Fusco were busy, and Harold was in Hong Kong, when the Machine had given Root a mission. Shaw was still asleep so Root assumed it was fine to complete the task quickly before she woke up. It was nothing big, just bugging someone’s office. It didn’t take long, and when Root returned to the Subway, nothing seemed off until she noticed that the Cot was empty.

 

“Shaw?” Root called out. “Where are you?”

 

All she heard in response was the sound of Bear barking back by the subway cart. Root followed the noise, and when she entered the cart, her stomach dropped.

 

“Sameen put down the gun.”

 

Shaw just shook her head, the gun still leveled at her temple. Her eyes had that lost look again, but this time it was much worse, like she was back in that prison.

 

“You’re not real, this isn’t real,” she mumbled.

 

“Sam, we saved you remember?” Root said, inching closer to Shaw with her hands raised.

 

“Stay where you are!” Shaw yelled, the gun shaking in her hands, as she trembled, and Root paused. “I failed last time, but not again.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Root asked, confused. “You’re safe, I promise.”

 

“No one’s safe, not anymore. This is a trap. This isn’t real, you need to leave.”

 

“Sameen--,” Root started.

 

“Samaritan isn’t that bad. They want to help people, but unlike the Machine, they will succeed. There can only be one God,” Shaw said.

 

“That’s not true. Samaritan hurts people, they hurt you, but I can help if you just put down the gun,” Root said, her voice breaking.

 

“I tried, I really did, but I failed, and now there’s no way out,” Shaw said, but right before she could pull the trigger, Root pounced forwards and smacked the gun out of her hand.

 

“No!” Shaw cried out, but she was too weak to fight back, as Root held her down.

 

“I’m sorry,” Root stated. “I asked you to help us that day,” but Shaw didn’t respond, her eyes already closed, and Root was left dragging her back to the cot.

 

When Shaw woke up a few hours later, she had no recognition of that moment, and Root never brought it up.

**Author's Note:**

> So happy Sarah Shahi is returning to POI!!! Feel free to leave any more request below, and comments on what you think will happen once Shaw returns.


End file.
